Patient Communication Board Featured on Science Today Radio Talk Show, Reduces Patient Stress
Lance Patak, a critical care nurse at UCLA’s Cardiothoracic ICU and creator of the EZ Board patient communication board, was interviewed by Larissa Branin for the Science Today radio talk show. The interview discussed the features of the EZ Board and how it can reduce frustration levels during communication with intubated patients.
(PRWEB) June 29, 2005 -- Lance Patak, a critical care nurse at UCLA’s
Cardiothoracic ICU and creator of the EZ Board patient communication board, was interviewed by Larissa Branin
for the radio talk show, Science Today. The interview discussed the features of
the EZ Board and how its communication system, which was developed by patients,
can meet the communication needs of intubated patients with significantly
reduced frustration levels.
There are two kinds of Intensive Care Unit
patients, according to Lance Patak. “You have patients who anticipate being in
the ICU after elective surgeries, and you also have trauma patients, who were
driving down the road and suddenly wake up with alarms going off and a tube down
their throat. [Both kinds of patients are unable to speak, and they have a lot
of questions and concerns when they wake up.”
Patient communication is
limited in these situations and can be very frustrating for the patients, their
nurses, and the patients’ loved ones. Before the EZ Board patient communication board, patient communication was limited
to how well a nurse could make out a patient’s gestures or words around a tube,
or in some situations, using an alphabet chart. Unfortunately, the alphabet
chart was also severely limited.
“The problem [with the alphabet chart is
the patient starts to spell, but [the nurse doesn’t know when the word ends or a
new one begins, or if they miss a letter, there’s so much effort in trying to
find the letter and go around, it’s almost futile and exhausting for the
patients.”
The EZ Board patient communication board was
designed by patients who were or had been in this situation. It features:
-
Large, easy-to-read text
- “I Am…” column to indicate state of being (I am
short of breathe, I am thirsty, I am afraid, I am in pain, I am unsure of what
is happening)
- “I Want…” column to indicate wants and needs (I want to be
suctioned, I want my family, I want a blanket, I want the lights on or off)
- Pictures of the body which the patient can use to indicate needs in a
certain area
- Color-coded pain intensity levels from 0-10 to describe listed
discomforts (itching, stings, cramps, can’t move, is numb, burns, is
tender)
- A time frame so the patient can indicate when he or she would like
these needs met (immediately, later, as soon as possible)
“It also
enables patients to thank their practitioner, something that many of the
patients testing the patient communication board
requested specifically,” added Patak.
The EZ Board patient communication board is very lightweight and very
inexpensive. According to research done by Patak, patients do not want the
patient communication board to be something that the nurses or the hospitals
own; they want to own it themselves. Patak designed the patient communication board to be affordable and disposable
for that reason.
The EZ Board patient communication board has been
utilized successfully at several hospitals, including UCLA. Patient evaluations
have shown that the patient communication board can
significantly reduce frustration levels, provide a more efficient method of
patient communication, and decrease the need for pain or anxiolytic medication.
Patak believes the EZ Board patient communication board has the
potential to reduce the hours of both surgical- and emergent-intubation as well
as hospital stay, but states those variables need to be tested by an
experimental study. At this time, that research has not been done.
The
EZ Board patient communication board is available with either Spanish
or English text. For further information about the EZ Board or to order a
patient communication board, visit www.Vidatak.com. Excerpts from the Science Today interview can
be reviewed at www.ucop.edu/sciencetoday.
About Vidatak,
LLC
Established in 1999, Vidatak Enterprises began distributing their patient
communication boards to hospitals all over the country. By 2003, Vidatak had
changed its name, ownership, and business models. Now, Vidatak, LLC continues to
present their research findings and critical care patient communication aids at
various conferences, seeking distributors in critical care, rehabilitation
medicine, and speech pathology and therapy.
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Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/6/prweb256443.htm